Politics from the Left and Farther Left from Lorne Bair

Another industrialist of the era, Henry Ford, does not get such even treatment in this biography: The Real Henry Ford, by E.G. Pipp, published in 1922. Pipp had edited Ford's newspaper, the Dearborm Independent, but resigned in disgust over Ford's editorials. Ford, a smart and creative businessman, had a deeply ugly side too. He published a series of vitriolic, anti-Semitic articles under the heading The International Jew. His writings became popular among the Nazis. Ford shut down the Independent as a result of bad publicity in 1927, denied that he actually wrote the offensive material under his byline or even read it, and tried to rehabilitate his reputation, but his explanation was a hard sell. Pipp, in his book, also exposes other actions by Ford, such as intimidation of workers, though his reputation as an employer was generally favorable until the 1930s, when he vehemently opposed labor's attempt to unionize autoworkers. Item 90. $300.

Item 17 is a rather strident, anti-imperialist poem from Ahmed Sekou Toure, leader of the African nation of Guinea, titled Traitors Go To Hell! If nothing, Toure was direct. Not that he was without justification at the time (circa 1970). Guinea had been attacked by the Portuguese from neighboring Portuguese Guinea (today Guinea-Bissau) and Toure suspected Guinea's previous colonial master, France, and the West in general was involved. Among the lines in his poem are, “vile spies of N.A.T.O....to hell snakes...to hell traitors, to hell opportunists, you are welcome into the grave imperialists.” Unfortunately, by this time, the once revolutionary Sekou Toure was beginning to send his own people to Hell. Toure started out as an uncompromising labor leader in French colonial Guinea, for which he earned the admiration of his people. When France offered its colonies a choice between independence and membership in the French commonwealth, which provided aid in return for attached strings, Toure was the only leader to take total independence. It soured his nation's relations with France, but Toure turned east for aid from the Soviets and their allies. He introduced Marxist economic thought, including public ownership of industry. However, as time went on, and achieving successful reforms turned out to be more difficult than simple ideology might imply, people became restless. Toure responded by lowering the hammer of the secret police and similar responses to maintain dictatorial control. There would be no elections, and by the early 1970s, Toure was enforcing control through the notorious Camp Boiro prison, where thousands, perhaps as many as 50,000 according to Amnesty International, people were murdered. The once beloved revolutionary leader ended up as the bloody dictator, a tragic end experienced all too often in revolutions around the world. $200.

Item 118 is a poster for the John Sinclair Freedom Rally, held at the Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1971. Sinclair was a radical poet, promoter of the legendary MC5 band, and leader of the White Panther Party, sort of a white people's version of the Black Panther Party. Sinclair was arrested, ostensibly for possessing a few joints, but he certainly would have been a target for those not sharing his radical views. Sinclair was sentenced to ten years in prison for his private behavior, leading to this rally in his defense. Among those highlighting the rally were John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Allen Ginsberg, Phil Ochs, Jerry Rubin and Bobby Seale of the Black Panthers. Shortly thereafter, his conviction was overturned on the grounds that the statute under which he was convicted was unconstitutional. $850.

Lorne Bair Rare Books may be reached at 540-665-0855 or info@lornebair.com. The website is www.lornebair.com.